Lopez, green groups back coal tax hike

MANILA, Philippines — Former environment secretary Gina Lopez and other environment and renewable energy advocates yesterday expressed support for the P300 tax to be levied on coal.

“I am elated that the Senate and other concerned government agencies are coming to the fore and doing what our Constitution dictates: That it is the duty of the state to intervene when the common good so dictates,” she said. 

Lopez said that coal and mining are very destructive to the well-being of the people.        

“That these activities are even allowed at all is an unfortunate reality,” she said.

Lopez said the Philippines is the only country that gives a seven-year tax holiday for the destruction of the environment.

Lopez lauded the initiative of senators who support bigger taxes for mining and coal, like Senators Joel Villanueva, Ralph Recto and Loren Legarda.

Voting 11-1, the Senate approved an increase of nearly 3,000 percent in coal taxes in three tranches from 2018 to 2020.

Coal has been imposed a tax of P10 per metric ton since 1977. Villanueva proposed that it be taxed P100 per metric ton. Legarda proposed that coal be taxed P100 for 2018, P200 for 2019, and P300 for 2020.

Clean energy advocates belied claims by coal proponents that increasing the coal tax will cause electricity rates to soar.

“What will raise the price of electricity is not the coal tax per se, but coal plants passing on fuel costs to the consumers,” Center for Energy, Ecology and Development executive director Gerry Arances said. 

He said removing the “pass-through” provision in the energy law, Republic Act 9513, “will protect consumers from taking the hit in levying taxes against the coal industry.”